noted. 11/25/2011

• Bush and Blair found guilty of war crimes for Iraq attack - Salon.com

  • The tribunal ruled that Bush and Blair’s name should be entered in a register of war criminals, urged that they be recognized as such under the Rome Statute, and will also petition the International Criminal Court to proceed with binding charges. Such efforts are likely to be futile, but one Malaysian lawyer explained the motives of the tribunal to The Associated Press: “For these people who have been immune from prosecution, we want to put them on trial in this forum to prove that they committed war crimes.” In other words, because their own nations refuse to hold them accountable and can use their power to prevent international bodies from doing so, the tribunal wanted at least formal legal recognition of these war crimes to be recorded and the evidence of their guilt assembled. That’s the same reason a separate panel of this tribunal will hold hearings later this year on charges of torture against Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and others.

• Bush, Blair guilty in Malaysia 'war crimes trial'

  • "The Tribunal deliberated over the case and decided unanimously that the first accused George Bush and second accused Blair have been found guilty of crimes against peace," the tribunal said in a statement.

  • The tribunal is also expected to later hear torture and war crimes charges against seven others, including former US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld and former vice president Dick Cheney.

• FBI to launch nationwide facial recognition service - Nextgov

  • The FBI by mid-January will activate a nationwide facial recognition service in select states that will allow local police to identify unknown subjects in photos, bureau officials told Nextgov.

      

• Letters: Workers must keep bosses in check | Business | The Guardian

  • • Can we stop referring to "earnings" to describe the ludicrous sums looted from the economy by "top" people. The terms "trousered", "pocketed", "walked  way with", "snaffled" or the simple "received" would be more appropriate. Nobody "earns" those levels of income.
    

• AFP: Half of US voters say bomb Iran if sanctions fail

  • WASHINGTON — Fifty percent of Americans believe military action should be taken to stop Iran's nuclear program if sanctions do not work, a national poll released on Wednesday said.

    The Quinnipiac University survey also found that more Americans disapprove, by 50 percent to 44 percent, of the job President Barack Obama is doing -- although more people than not approve of the way he has handled foreign policy, including his management of thorny US relations with Tehran.

    Some 55 percent of respondents said the United States should not take immediate military action against Iran, with 36 percent in favor.

    The number in favor of using force increases to 50 percent however if sanctions fail, with 38 percent against.

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